<B>bread-and-butter, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Informal.) <DD><B> a. </B>basic; staple. <BR> <I>Ex. Wagner's operas have never ... been bread-and-butter items of the record companies as have Verdi and Puccini (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>prosaic; commonplace. <BR> <I>Ex. bread-and-butter situation comedy.</I> (SYN) mundane. <DD><B> 2. </B>expressing thanks for hospitality. <BR> <I>Ex. a bread-and-butter letter.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Informal.) of or like a boy or girl; adolescent. <BR> <I>Ex. bread-and-butter schoolgirls.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>controlled by material wants and desires; mercenary. <BR> <I>Ex. bread-and-butter schemes.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="breadandcheese">
<B>bread and cheese,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> simple fare. </DL>
<A NAME="breadandcircuses">
<B>bread and circuses,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>food and amusements given to people by a government or other ruling power to keep the people content. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=welfare.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="breadandscrape">
<B>bread and scrape,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> bread having a meager spread of butter. </DL>
<A NAME="breadbasket">
<B>breadbasket, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a basket or tray for holding or carrying bread. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a region that is a chief source of grain. <BR> <I>Ex. ... Alentejo, the rich breadbasket province of rolling wheat and cork groves (Atlantic).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Slang, Figurative.) the stomach. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Slang.) a large aerial bomb containing a cluster of smaller explosive or incendiary bombs. </DL>
<B>breadboard, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a board on which dough is kneaded. <DD><B> 2. </B>a board on which bread is cut. <DD><B> 3. </B>a board or similar flat surface on which experimental arrangements of any system, such as a system of electronic circuits, can be laid out. <DD><I>v.i., v.t. </I> to make a breadboard for (an experimental system). </DL>
<A NAME="breadbox">
<B>breadbox, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a boxfor storing bread, rolls, cake, etc. </DL>
<A NAME="breadcrumb">
<B>breadcrumb</B> or <B>bread-crumb, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a crumb of bread. <DD><B> 2. </B>the soft part of bread. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to cover or roll with breadcrumbs. </DL>
<A NAME="breadcrustbomb">
<B>bread-crust bomb,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a mass of volcanic lava (bomb) having a compact but cracked outer crust and a spongy interior. </DL>
<A NAME="breadfruit">
<B>breadfruit, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a large, round, starchy fruit grown in the islands of the Pacific, much used for food. When it is baked it tastes somewhat like bread. <DD><B> 2. </B>the tree that it grows on. It belongs to the mulberry family. <DD><B> 3. </B>some similar fruit, such as the jack. </DL>
<A NAME="breadknife">
<B>bread knife,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a knife for cutting bread, often having a notched or toothed edge. </DL>
<B>bread line,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a line of people waiting to be given food as charity or relief. </DL>
<A NAME="breadmold">
<B>bread mold,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a black fungus that grows on bread. </DL>
<A NAME="breadnut">
<B>breadnut, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the nut of a tree of the mulberry family, of Jamaica and Central America, which is roasted or boiled for use as food. </DL>
<A NAME="breadroot">
<B>breadroot, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the starchy, edible root of a plant of the pea family, found in central North America. </DL>
<A NAME="breadstick">
<B>bread stick,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a long, slender, cylindrical piece of bread dough baked until dry and crisp. </DL>
<A NAME="breadstuff">
<B>breadstuff, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>Also, <B>breadstuffs.</B> grain, flour, or meal for making bread. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=bread.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="breadth">
<B>breadth, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>how broad a thing is; distance across; width. <BR> <I>Ex. the breadth of the road, the breadth of the ocean. He has traveled the length and breadth of this land.</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B>a piece of a certain width; a width. <BR> <I>Ex. a breadth of cloth.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a measurement for flags equal to 9 inches in width. A four-breadth flag is 36 inches wide. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) freedom from narrowness in outlook. <BR> <I>Ex. Education and experience breed a breadth of vision and understanding.</I> (SYN) latitude, amplitude, liberality. <DD><B> 4. </B>spaciousness; extent. <BR> <I>Ex. The breadth of the explorer's travels was greater than that of the journeys of a dozen ordinary men.</I> (SYN) scope, range. <DD><B> 5. </B>a broad effect achieved by elimination or minimizing of details in the fine arts. </DL>
<A NAME="breadthways">
<B>breadthways, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in the direction of the breadth. </DL>
<A NAME="breadthwise">
<B>breadthwise, </B>adverb. =breadthways.</DL>
<A NAME="breadwheat">
<B>bread wheat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any wheat commonly used in making bread. </DL>
<A NAME="breadwinner">
<B>breadwinner, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>a person who earns a living for himself and those dependent on him. <BR> <I>Ex. No fewer than 735,000 moved from the unemployed list to jobs, 452,000 of them married men in the vital family breadwinner category (Time).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a person who earns his bread orliving. <DD><B> 2. </B>the tools, art, or craft with which anyone earns his living. </DL>
